Jenaro Victorino
Jenaro Victorino is a Chihuahua native that found himself press-ganged into the New Mexican Army. While he prospered greatly in the ranks of the army, the increasingly despotic whims of its leadership were too much to handle. After years of disillusionment, Jenaro deserted the group and has taken to hiding out in the Tamaulipas region. From there he pines his time for revenge against the strongman with his small group of bandits and highwaymen. Biography Early Years Jenaro's mother was a prostitute in the ruined Chihuahua City, there she traded her body for the necessities of life. Given her profession, Jenaro never knew who his father was. It was likely some thug, but the faction would forever be a mystery. In those days he would hide in the closet with his teddy bear while his mother would see clients. It was an awful life, but compared to most he had it made, there was relative safety, and he rarely went hungry. When Jenaro got old enough, he fled from the dying town and sought refuge at a country monastery. There the monks taught him to read and write in exchange for copying books. Jenaro's tiny child hands could easily replicate intricate calligraphy the shaky hands of the elders could not. This was a peaceful time in his life, without the harsh realities of the world around him. The walls of the monastery were sturdy and kept many horrors at bay. Years passed with the monks and eventually, Jernaro was sent out for mission work. He wasn't a priest or anything like that yet, but he had a strong back and could carry supplies. The mission work was more humanitarian relief than conversions. The monastery had little, but it shared anything that could be spared. This work was grueling, but it strengthened Jenaro's resolve. It was during these trips that Jernaro caught the attention of local strongmen that also had a need for a strong back. These were the kind of men that had a powerful thirst for monastery wine and didn't take no for an answer. New Mexican Army At the tender age of 21, Jenaro found himself drilling with a handgun and spear in the New Mexican Army. Bandit incursions in the region had prompted a retaliatory build up of soldiers to root out the problem. Jenaro was no stranger to bandits; he had seen their work first hand when delivering food and medicine. He knew the cruelty of strong men with no morals, and while this life was a harsh change from his simple country existence, he knew that something had to be done. While Jenaro excelled at rifle work, it was his pen that came in handy the most. In the early days, the general was in dire need of literate workers and Jenaro was quickly promoted from grunt to officer. As an officer, it was his job to make new copies of the general's book of great deeds. This was familiar work for Jenaro, who spent years performing this kind of work, albeit without the fancy new uniform. This was a tedious job, but it kept Jenaro out of most of the fighting. He was thankful not to be on the front lines as the first line of defense against the wasteland. Some people live for that sort of excitement, but that life wasn't for Jenaro, he had enough from his brief tenure as a grunt. From his office in the Distrito Central Jenaro, now Captain Victorino, was spared the reality of the General's new crude tactics. He heard the reports of villages wiped out and civilians killed, but he didn't dare to entertain any of these stories as possibly being true. Captain Victorino was one of the highest ranking non-ghoulified humans in the New Mexican Army, he didn't wish to compromise his station by being a troublemaker. Jenaro convinced himself that these stories were enemy spread lies and continued to copy the general's propaganda. Towards the end of his tenure, the general began to trust Jenaro enough to have some creative control over the Army's messaging. Christmas Eve Purge The Christmas Eve Purge was the straw that broke the camel's back for Jenaro. At this point, the cruelty of Huerta was impossible to ignore. Before his eyes, the men had worked for were lined up and shot as an example for the rest. This army had gone from fighting the predators of the wasteland to enacting cruelties on the innocent far worse than anything performed by a raider. As captain, he was relatively safe during this ideological cleansing. His position, while lofty wasn't high enough to warrant any significant scrutiny. Jenaro knew his time in the New Mexican Army had come to an end, but he couldn't risk leaving just yet, he'd need to wait until the dust settled a little. In the early stages the purges, the officers in charge were hot blooded and looking for any excuse to execute someone. As these puffed up thugs got the initial kills over with Jenaro knew there would be some advantageous periods of chaos as the power vacuum was being filled. Not all of the new officers were equally competent and as the ranks were being adjusted the Captain would simply abandon his post. It took a couple weeks, but during a particularly raucous celebration over the promotion of a new LT, in what would become the secret police, Jenaro slipped out the back of the distro with his rifle and a canteen. Comanchero Life In the wasteland, everything Jenaro ever knew was gone. He was alone and had an entire army looking to hang him. It was during these desperate times that Jenaro began to recruit from the terrorized villages and built up his own unit of men. Being a trained military officer, albeit one that handled primarily paperwork, he drew from what he knew to wage war against the General Huerta. The results were modest, his gang took heavy casualties, but there was never a shortage of willing recruits as the New Mexican Army grew increasingly despotic. Eventually, as the years passed and Captain Victorino grew better acquainted with comanchero guerrilla tactics his bandito gang actually started to win some incursions. They weren't just harassing the general, they could actually push him back sometimes. He never had enough men to challenge the New Mexican Army openly on the field, but his gang could ambush with the best of them. Supply wagons were slow, lumbering choice targets that he would hit without hesitation. They would keep his unit fed and provide much-needed bullets, which were in constant short supply. Jenaro had skills in propaganda and knew that half the battle was perception. To strike fear into the hearts of his enemies, he had his men don red hoods. This made the gang distinct and would hopefully stir the masses. The captain wasn't sure what effect they had on the public, but the messaging did catch the attention of Johnny West, who offered Jenaro's gang a spot in his now infamous 2279 raid on Chihuahua City. West used Jenaro's input in planning his attack as the Captain had some familiarity with the fortification's layout. The problem was Johnny took everyone's counsel on the matter, with too many cooks stirring the pot the siege was a mess. Some gang leaders insisted on ladders and others dynamite on the gates. In the end, the forces were split between the two ideas and not enough men were available for either tactic to work. With all but one of his men dead and a bullet in the hip, Jenaro fell back with the rest into the countryside. The generalissimo won that battle, but Jenaro wasn't finished, he just needed to bide his time and attack again when the conditions were right. Fearing certain retaliation from Huerta, the captain took what supplies he could carry and slipped across the border into the Tamaulipas region. In the hills there he began rebuilding his red hooded gang of banditos. There his gang found better opportunities working with the local land barons. The big cattle ranchers always found themselves in need of men that could get certain jobs accomplished. Life as a gun for hire wasn't too hateful. It left him plenty of time to raid and trade liquor with the yankees for guns. Involvement in The Second Brahmin-Cattlemen War Equipment Captain Victorino usually carries Marlin .44 level action rifle. Of course, he also carries at least one canteen and a satchel of jerky as rations. His men are often equipped with machetes or six shooters. At this point, he only has a handful of bandits and highwaymen to command, but they are capable fighters. Quotes About Category:Mexico Category:Chihuahua Category:Tamaulipas